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Our panelists weigh in on their dining out habits

FPG regularly polls our panel members to get their take on a wide range of topics. In our most recent poll, we asked just over 1,000 panel members about their dining out habits and preferences. A random, national sample of men and women, ages 18+, was surveyed. Here is what they had to say:

Restaurant Types and Meal Times:

When dining out, respondents frequent sit-down restaurants (Olive Garden, California Pizza Kitchen, Red Lobster) more often than fast casual (Panera, Chipotle, Five Guys) and quick-serve restaurants (McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s). Using open-ended text, we asked respondents to tell us the restaurant they frequent most often. Most were able to narrow their responses down to one restaurant, but many respondents listed two or more restaurants. Among the most-seen responses are national chain restaurants Chipotle, Panera, McDonald’s, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Chili’s and Applebee’s. Also among the responses are various independent restaurants and eateries, exclusive to a respondent’s local area. When it comes to the meal eaten away from home most often, respondents find themselves dining out more often for dinner than any other meal.

Dining Out, Take Out, and Delivery Habits and Frequencies:

Approximately 89% of respondents dine out at any kind of restaurant at least once a week. Almost 64% are ordering food for takeout or delivery at least once a week. The data shows that respondent dining out and takeout/delivery habits and frequencies do not differ greatly between one another, if at all. In other words, the majority of respondents are dining out as much – or nearly as much – as they are ordering for takeout/delivery.

40% of respondents’ dine out and takeout/delivery habits and frequencies are comparable to one another. In some cases (28%), dining out and takeout/delivery occasions differ by only 1-2 occasions, more or less, per week.

A total of 30% of respondents dine out at any kind of restaurant at the same frequency that they order takeout/delivery.

30% of respondents seem to prefer one means of acquiring a meal over the other; they dine out much more than ordering takeout/delivery or they order takeout/delivery much more than dining out.

Restaurant and Food Delivery Applications:

New online and mobile technology/applications for restaurants and food delivery services continue to emerge and evolve. A large number of restaurants now offer proprietary mobile applications for ordering food and/or beverages. We asked respondents about their familiarity with, and usage of this trend. We found that the majority of respondents (70%) have downloaded and used a “Restaurant App” to order food or beverages from their mobile device/phone at some point.

Food delivery services such as GrubHub, UberEATS, SkipTheDishes, and DoorDash, whose websites and mobile applications allow diners to order and have food delivered from local restaurants and eateries, are gaining popularity across the nation. Just over half of respondents (54%) have ordered food online or used an app for delivery using a food delivery service. While many large metropolitan cities and their residents – such as New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles – embraced the idea of takeout delivery years ago, smaller markets are just now becoming familiar with and taking hold of the concept.

Among our polled panelists, food delivery services are utilized more by those under the age of 40, with 71% of respondents ages 39 and under having prior experience with a food delivery service. A lesser total of 42% of respondents ages 40+ have used a food delivery service.

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